Write about anything in your college application essays — even your struggles
College admissions officers are looking for stories of growth, struggle against adversity, and resilience.
The stigma against mental illness is prevalent across all aspects of society. People often say things like “depression isn’t real,” claiming that depressed people are “too lazy to change” their lives and use mental illness as an excuse to “absolve responsibilities.” People also seem to believe that mentally ill people are dangerous, and potentially deadly. These intolerant attitudes have real-life consequences. People with mental illnesses are more likely to be jailed or imprisoned than hospitalized during a psychological crisis, more likely to be the victims of violence, and more likely to be homeless — all thanks to society’s belief that mentally ill people are just dangerous individuals who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
However, the stigma against mental illness is gradually diminishing. Thanks to the efforts of mental health activists and organizations, people are finally starting to realize that mental illnesses are real conditions that affects millions of people. Much like a physical illness, mental illness has real and often serious ramifications on people. People are starting to realize that it isn’t “just in your head” or something that one can fix with the power of positive thinking alone. Mental illnesses are caused by disorders and abnormalities in the brain. In this way, telling a depressed person to “just be happy” is no more effective than telling a person with a broken leg to “just get up and walk.”
And with this growing awareness of the realities of mental health, colleges and universities around the country are responding by offering substantial support to students with mental health. At Harvard, for example, there are a number of support systems in place for students experiencing mental health problems. There is the Counseling and Mental Health services (CAHMS) offered by the Harvard University Health Services. There are also a variety of informal support systems, such as confidential peer counseling organizations, and also a student organization that promotes mental well-being.
Nevertheless, many high school students remain convinced that their mental illness will serve as a hindrance in the college admissions process. The stigma against mental illness, though greatly abated, still remains in much of society. Therefore, it is understandable that students would be concerned that writing about mental illness in their essays would have a negative impact on their application.
There is no simple answer to this question. When college admissions officers read applications, they are looking for signs that a student demonstrates important qualities such as integrity, courage, and strength. If you truly feel that your struggles with mental health have played a powerful role in your life, or have definitively shaped you into the person you are today, then there is no reason why you should not write about it. For some people, it is their experience playing soccer, acting in plays, or studying biology that shaped them into the person they are today — but for others, it is their battle with mental illness. And that is perfectly valid.
College admissions officers are looking for stories of growth, struggle against adversity, and resilience. If you feel that your experience with mental illness falls under this category, then there is no reason why you should not write about it. However, it is important to treat this topic with sufficient nuance, lest it become clichéd. For example, writing about your battle with depression could easily fall under the same category as writing about the loss of a loved one, or a battle with cancer, or something similarly traumatic and upsetting that happened in your life. There is no reason why you should not write about these topics if they have truly shaped you into who you are today, but there is also no reason to think that writing a “sob story” would get you automatic admissions. You don’t want to make your college admissions officer feel sorry for you. You want them to see the journey you’ve gone through, the internal growth you’ve achieved, and the strength you’ve demonstrated.
So then the answer to the question — will I get accepted to college if I write about my mental illness? — is this: Writing about your mental illness would not be automatic grounds for acceptance or rejection. It is an inevitable part of the human experience to be imperfect, to struggle, and to have weakness and vulnerability. There is strength in writing about your weakest moments. However, the key is this — you cannot make mental illness your entire story. You cannot simply write about how you suffered. You need to find some way to make this a story about courage, resilience, and growth. And the chances are, if you are someone who is even thinking about writing about mental illness, then your experience with mental illness has profoundly shaped you into the person you are today.
Every journey, every story of growth, has an antagonist. Who that antagonist is — mental illness, cancer, death of a loved one, bullies — does not matter. It is the journey that matters.
Nian is a content creator at Mascot. She recently graduated from Harvard College.
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